If there’s one thing that every homeowner dreads, it’s the thought of an unwelcome visitor taking up residence in their house. We’re not talking about unsolicited visits from long-lost relatives, but the animal and insect variety that can sneak into your home when you least expect it.
No one ever wants to see a mouse or rat in their house unless it’s a much-loved pet. Pests not only look scary but can also bring with them a host of problems. Rodents obviously spread diseases, making it impossible for you to keep your home hygienically clean. However, aside from the hygiene issues, rodents can also put your home at risk by chewing through wires and cables, which are a potential fire hazard.
Unfortunately, when the weather grows colder, rodents understandably start to look for a warm place to shelter. This is often what drives them to enter people’s homes. Taking a proactive approach is the best way to keep your home pest-free, but you may be wondering where to start. Keep reading to discover some handy tips to keep your home pest-free this winter:
Don’t Allow Easy Access
The first and easiest step to take to prevent rodents invading your property is to remove access points. There are many ways that you can do this. The most obvious one is to avoid leaving your doors open and unattended, even when you are out in the garden.
The next step is to look for potential access points at your property. These could be gaps in the corners of doorframes, or missing areas of mortar on your brickwork. Rodents can fit through surprisingly small spaces, so it’s wise to deal with any gaps they could potentially fit into.
Act Fast
If you do spot rodents on your property, even in your garden, it’s often best to act quickly. It’s tempting to just hope that they will go by themselves. But in reality, rodents breed at a really fast rate. Rats can produce up to 12 pups in each litter, and as their gestation period is around 20 days, they can deliver multiple litters each year. The female pups are mature enough to have their own litter from around five weeks of age. So, if you spot rodents and ignore them, you could have a much bigger issue to deal with in the space of just a few weeks.
There are many ways to get rid of mice and rats from your property. One popular method is to use rat snap traps to deal with the issue before it escalates.
Carry Out Regular Checks
Being alert to the first signs of a pest infestation is a good idea. There are quite a few signs that rodents may have taken up residence in your home. These include seeing droppings, the strong smell of urine, and hearing scurrying noises in your ceiling at night. Looking out for these signs in your attic is a great place to start to keep your home pest-free throughout the winter and beyond.